I got a new car today!!!!

Well... new to me. It's actually a 2008 but it only has 15,000 miles on it, so to me, that actually counts as new. It's in perfect condition. I mean, it's BETTER than new. These people must have only driven to the grocery store and kept it in a garage - it doesn't have a SPECK on the windshield. (It won't take long for it to though, since I drive 30,000 miles a year.) That's right. I calculated that since I've owned my little red Toyota truck, "Big Red," since September of 2008. She's been good to me, lo these 233k plus miles. And she's not going to truck heaven; not yet. No, I'm going to pay liability so DD can drive her in high school (which is perfect, since her high school's nickname is 'Big Red.') I don't think I could part with her yet anyway. We've been through too much together. I got her right after mom and dad passed away, and started crying when I test drove her by myself. I just knew it was right, and somehow felt my dad's presence saying to get her. So I did... And NOTHING has ever broken down. Ever. All I've ever gotten was brake jobs, since I stop and start all day long in sales. So, Big Red will live in the driveway, and get taken out a little bit, until she carriages my youngest in a few short years.

I've been thinking about this next car for about a year now. Watching cars go down the road. Wondering what I should get. Last time was easy. I knew exactly what I wanted. And although I live in Texas, and haul lots of antiques, and move a lot, I still didn't want to look manly in a truck. But oh well, I got tired of borrowing other people's trucks.

With this decision I kept wavering between large enough to look cool in a SUV or small enough to get great gas mileage in all my driving. There are lots of crossovers, so there are actually lots of choices. And I have had so much luck (blessing) with Honda's and Toyota's, that I was pretty partial to them. But in the end, Toyota's aren't as good as they used to be, and Honda's are higher than everything else. I came close to buying the Honda CRV this past weekend, but those guys wouldn't come off the sticker price $1.00, on either the 2011 or the 2007! Give me a break! Too, I call on car dealers, and had already lost one advertiser when I changed my mind on a Subaru he had. (sigh) I decided to pray that God would bring "the one" past me, and He did! On Monday, when getting ad copy at my biggest advertiser's dealership, they had a VW that had just been traded in. Seems the family has 3 young kids, and this 2 door just wouldn't do. It's got a real zippy engine and gets great gas mileage. I love it!! They gave me a great deal, or as my dad used to say, "If you think you got a good deal, then you did." It's got to last a long time, so here's hoping and praying.

Oh, and her name? Doo-dah. (Zippity Doo dah)